Each year in October New South Wales celebrates Mental Health Month, a time to think about our wellbeing and to understand the importance of good mental health in our everyday lives. 

Your local library has an extensive collection of non-fiction titles around mental health and wellbeing. Here are 5 of our recommendations: 

Phosphorescence: on awe, wonder and things that sustain you when the world goes dark by Julia Baird 

An examination of what makes us happy and what sustains us during particularly dark times. 

First, we make the beast beautiful: a new story about anxiety by Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson directs her intense focus and fierce investigatory skills onto her lifetime companion of anxiety and looks at how even the myriad of sufferers can not just feel better about their condition, but delighted by the possibilities it offers for a fuller life.  

The Resilience Project: finding happiness through gratitude, empathy & mindfulness by Hugh van Cuylenburg

With the same blend of humour, poignancy and clear-eyed insight that The Resilience Project is renowned for, this book explains how we can all get the necessary tools to live a happier, more contented and fulfilling life. 

Every thing is f*cked: a book about hope by Mark Manson 

With his usual mix of enlightenment and humour, Mark Manson challenges us to be more honest with ourselves and to connect with the world in ways we probably haven't considered before. As he says, 'we can be truly successful only at something we're willing to fail at.'

Braving the wilderness: the quest for true belonging and the courage to stand alone by Bene Brown

This books offers us the clarity and courage we need to find our way back to ourselves, to each other and the path that cuts right through the wilderness.